Starter products?
- Thread starter Zoom2UCI
- Start date
Optimum No-Rinse for the wash
Mother's or Meguiar's Claybar
Optimum Opti-Seal for sealant
if you want it to look wetter/deeper, go for a caranuba wax, but the Opti-seal looks great w/ 2 coats and takes <10 mins to do the whole car once. the beading action with the opti-seal gives me wood, too.
my 2 cents... its what I wash with.
Mother's or Meguiar's Claybar
Optimum Opti-Seal for sealant
if you want it to look wetter/deeper, go for a caranuba wax, but the Opti-seal looks great w/ 2 coats and takes <10 mins to do the whole car once. the beading action with the opti-seal gives me wood, too.
my 2 cents... its what I wash with.
one 32oz of ONR will wash 32 cars (or some crazy amount), and you can use it as a clay lubricant (as per instructions on bottle). one 8oz thing of opti-seal will seal countless (more than 100) cars.
correct procedure would be wash with ONR (no hoses or rinsing required, just sponge it on, wash, and wipe it off with microfiber cloths... see youtube), then clay, then seal.
Thanks for the help. I bought the products you suggested, so hopefully my car can look all nice and clean in a couple of days.
I should really get a picture of the beads that opti-seal makes.... next time it rains I'll try to remember. they make me hard.
My2001Milly
Member
- :
- 2001 Mazda Millenia Premium 2.5L
Just my two cents on the matter, I recommend the full Meguiar's line.
For me, I use Gold Class Car Wash/ Shampoo as a wash,
Smooth Surface Clay Kit for clay,
and I go with either Gold Class Caranuba Plus or NXT Tech Wax 2.0 for the wax (use Ultimate Quik Wax as a wipe down to boost the color)
**If you want to make your car look absolutely brilliant, and its dark colored, try a good quality polish like Deep Crystal Polish. It really brings out the shine**
For me, I use Gold Class Car Wash/ Shampoo as a wash,
Smooth Surface Clay Kit for clay,
and I go with either Gold Class Caranuba Plus or NXT Tech Wax 2.0 for the wax (use Ultimate Quik Wax as a wipe down to boost the color)
**If you want to make your car look absolutely brilliant, and its dark colored, try a good quality polish like Deep Crystal Polish. It really brings out the shine**
My2001Milly
Member
- :
- 2001 Mazda Millenia Premium 2.5L
Hey R.X.R, are those LC orange and white pads? I'm looking for some of those and a good PC for getting some nasty RIDs and swirls out of my black Millenia's paint. What would you recommend in terms of a good PC?
- :
- mazda5 2006, Focus ST
A great kit to use is the M105 and M205 from Meguiar's,with Lake Country 6.5" Classic Flat Pads. The Flex XC3401 will do the job for you and pay for itself in the long run.
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Hi. I'm looking for some starting set to clean my car nicely, do the wax before winter and remove some swirl marks. What I've got for now are Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit,Meguiars Deep Crystal Car Wash, Meguiars Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner, Meguiars Deep Crystal System Polish, Meguiars Deep Crystal System Carnauba Wax and Quik Detailer. I'm thinking about to buy Poorboy’s Porter Cable 7424XP Kit from autogeek. So the question is 1. do I need to go with poorboys (or any other company ) or I can buy just a polisher ( porter cable or something else for a first time user, what would You guys recommend) and go with meguiars. 2. What is better liquid wax or paste wax or sealant. Any recommendation what should I change and what I can use to get nice, clean and shiny car ? I've got mazda3 in metropolitan grey.
I don't use these Meguiar's products but from what I read on their website the Deep Crystal is a chemical paint cleaner and the Polish sounds much like a glaze. I do use their M105 and M205 for surface correction and vary the aggressiveness of the M105 by varying the pad on the polisher and the speed and pressure applied to the polisher. It will certainly remove swirl marks. I would use your Deep Crystal wash with an extra half to one ounce in it with warm but not hot water. Put your clay bar in the water along with the wash mitt. Do a pass over an area with the wash mitt, rinse the mitt and wipe the same area with the mitt with wash solution and follow with the clay bar, thus washing and claying at the same time. The extra bit of wash soap makes for good lubrication for the clay bar and the slightly warm water softens the bar and lets you fold it over more easily as you use it. I always clay with washing and don't use separate clay lubes. Follow with the Paint Cleanser. Then do the swirl correction with the PC and whatever products you decide to get. Poorboy's is very nice, user friendly and sun-safe. I have quite a few things from them. For winter, I would recommend a paint sealer in multiple layers rather than a wax. Poorboy's EX-P is also easy to use and can be used over their glazes which are Black Hole and White Diamond. Glazes add wetness and depth and the tiniest bit of fill capability but absolutely no protection. I use glazes, I love the added wetness and they can add extra pop to lighter colored cars such as yours. The key to success is meticulous preparation of the paint surface, removing swirls, spider webbing and oxidation. None of the finish products will make nearly the impact if this isn't done first. Autopia.com and Autogeek and excellent tutorials for learning detailing and there are others online as well. I would also recommend Poorboy's wheel sealant, 3 coats for the wheels. Crud just washes off. Another excellent product for winter when you can't wash in the driveway is Optimum's No Rinse. I t can be mixed as a rinse-less wash, a waterless wash spray (like PB's Spray and Wipe, which I buy by the gallon) or even as a clay lube. It is very economical. If you are forced to a car wash, use only a touchless one.
